Out of the Extraordinary
by TheAzureFox
Summary: (AU) Aoko has always felt a connection to the supernatural. Being superstitious to the point of absurdity, the girl strives to make contact with the other side. And, when a ghost draped in white inquires for her help she may just be able to obtain the exposure she has long searched for…but at what price? (AoKai, ShinRan, AkaHaku, KazuHei)
1. Top Hat Cosplayer

**Chapter One - Top Hat Cosplayer**

Coffee was truly the best smelling thing in the world.

That's what Aoko Nakamori believed as she sat in one her most favorite coffee shops - the Blue Birthday Café. Though it was a relatively new store, with several chains in the Tokyo area, she still found comfort in its soft aromas of coffee and cinnamon rolls. Though, she favored the former smell over the latter.

Currently, she was taking a break in the small confines of the guest area with her friends sprawled around the table. Work had just finished for all of them and they had each agreed to meet back at the shop when each of their shifts ended at their respective jobs. Everyone had gathered there already, but Aoko knew there was someone missing.

"Where's Heiji?" the girl asked, curling her hands around her pumpkin latte. "I thought he'd be here already."

The boy across from her frowned as he rubbed his chin and adjusted the bow tie on his suit. "Dunno," he yawned, "but I heard that work has been particularly bad for him ever since he landed the wrong suspect in jail."

"Mm, yeah," the girl to Aoko's right murmured, glancing wistfully at the empty seat on her left. "Heiji took a pretty harsh blow from that case. I was so afraid that he'd fall into a depression if he continued working but…it seems he's doin' better now."

"Aw, isn't that cute," the boy teased. "Kazuha's worried for her boyfriend!"

Instantly, the girl puffed out her cheeks. "He's not my boyfriend!" she snapped before eyeing him and the third girl - Ran - that was sitting at the table. "Besides, Shinichi, it's not like you're one ta talk."

Taking the hint, Shinichi's eyes widened and he crossed his arms to hide his panic. "And what does that mean?"

"Exactly that, ya love-struck idiot!"

Aoko gave an amused glance to Ran. The girl returned it with confusion clear in her eyes, having been lost in a daydream only seconds before. "What?" the other brunette inquired. "Is there something on my face?"

"No, Ran, you're fine," Shinichi turned from Kazuha to smile reassuringly at her before he frowned. "_Except_, there is something right there on the corner of your lips."

The boy leaned forward and dabbed a napkin on the edge of Ran's mouth. The girl looked at him with wide eyes before her cheeks flushed pink. Kazuha rolled her eyes and leaned closer to Aoko. "They're like little lovebirds, aren't they?"

"They sort of resemble you and Heiji," she remarked bravely.

Kazuha scowled and playfully shook her fist at the brown-haired girl. "Not even."

Aoko grinned. It was always fun to mock Kazuha about her crush on the dark-skinned man. Even if the girl instantly denied it, Aoko knew that the girl had harbored affection for him since they were children. After all, everyone in their friend circle was familiar with Kazuha's childhood story of being locked in a basement together with Heiji.

And, although they were less willing to admit it, Ran and Shinichi also shared their own sort of childhood story. Aoko herself was quite familiar with Ran's tales of Shinichi's efforts to drag her into trouble and was often jealous of the two's relationship. Though they didn't seem to know it themselves, the two were quite fond of the other, even going so far as to express cute displays of affection (even if they always laughed it off as "love for a brother/sister"; even Aoko knew better than that).

However, even if she knew her friends and appreciated all the humorous lovey-dovey moments they shared with each other, Aoko couldn't help but feel envious of their tightly-knit relationships. It felt awkward being the odd one out in their little group of five, and she sometimes couldn't help but wish for a childhood friend of her own to love. But, even if she hoped and dreamed for something so romantic, the fact of the matter was that it was too late for such a thing. She was twenty-six now. There was no possible way to find a childhood friend as it stood. And so, she lingered upon the thought of an adulthood love. Not as romantic as Kazuha or Ran had it, but Aoko supposed it was fine enough with her.

"Oi, Heiji!"

Within moments after finishing her conversation with Kazuha, Heiji stumbled into the coffee shop. The man, having heard his friend's shout, perked up in her direction. With a stiff nod of his head, he proceeded to walk to their table and took a seat beside the girl. Aoko curiously noted that the bags under his eyes had grown darker since she last saw him.

"Yo," the boy waved a hand before turning to a waitress. "Mind if I order a vanilla frappuccino?"

"I'll bring it to you within a few minutes," the girl blushed and earned herself a hard glare from Kazuha.

"Thanks," Heiji muttered before turning to the group. "So, what are ya guys talkin' about?"

"Nothin'!" Kazuha intervened before Shinichi or Ran could open their mouths. "Nothin' too important! How about ya? Ya look very tired today!"

"Some lame ol' customer accused me of bein' a con artist," he grumbled. "Doesn't help that he used my last case against me."

Shinichi frowned and took a sip from his pumpkin latte. "Some folks just won't let that go. They should just accept that everybody makes mistakes and move on already!"

"Amen to that."

They continued to drink in silence, each enjoying their own choice in coffee. Aoko personally enjoyed the smell better than the taste, but that didn't stop her from gulping down her latte with ravenous thirst. Her friends regarded her with odd stares before they continued with their own drinks, enjoying the beverages with small mouthfuls. Even Heiji joined in as soon as the waitress gave him his drink, enjoying the refreshment along with Kazuha's annoyed stares.

It was at this moment that Aoko spotted the man in white.

She didn't know how he caught her eye five seats away, but all she knew was that his outfit was perhaps one of the most bizarre thing she had ever seen. At first, Aoko would've presumed that he was a businessman due to his blue-collared shirt and his white suit that overlapped with it, but she was completely thrown off by his other and yet rather eccentric accessories. The man was attired with not only a suit and shirt, but also a top hat and a silver monocle that sat on his right eye. A long cape draped over the chair but seemed to flicker in and out of sight.

The first thought she had was: _oh my god, he's some kind of cosplayer._

Of course, that didn't seem very reasonable. Even as she thought of it, there was no way she could match that peculiar outfit to any of the comic books or manga she had read before. What's more, she couldn't remember any action hero owning a cape that flickered in and out of existence. Aoko watched the clothing with fascination, wondering how such a simple trick was carried out. Along with her love of the supernatural and superstitions, Aoko had always been a fan of magic. Magicians often caught her eye for their deceiving tricks and she was often pleased to watch the many illusions they produced. It was the closest thing she had gotten to the supernatural, after all.

Plus, on the other hand, it was more odd on how no one even noticed the strangely-dressed man. Even though his attire clearly clashed with the more modern day t-shirts and jeans, no one paid him or his table any heed. Hell, no waitress even stopped to take his order, completely ignoring him despite the fact that he clearly didn't have any coffee right in front of him.

Aoko's mind quickly tried to calculate an explanation but, before she could make any attempt to explain the strange phenomenon, the man turned to her.

Indigo eyes met sapphire ones.

She paused, her mouth slipping open. He frowned at her and stood up. Aoko watched as the man walked out the door, skirting around a teenage couple as they passed him by. She noticed how they, too, completely ignored his presence and furrowed her eyebrows. _What…just happened?_

Evidently, Ran had noticed her confusion. "What's wrong, Aoko?"

"I thought...I just…Maybe it was…He was…I don't even…"

Kazuha's face brightened at the mention of a ''he". With a mischievous look gracing her lips, the girl leaned forward. "Oh! Ya saw a cute boy, didn't ya?"

She shook her head. "No, I saw a strange guy. He was dressed in all white, minus the shirt. It looked like he was some sort of cosplayer."

Shinichi leaned forward with mild interest. "So, who was he cosplaying as?"

"I don't know. Some guy with a cape, a top hat, and a monocle."

Heiji scoffed at the idea. "What kind of ridiculous outfit is that?"

"Maybe he works at some sort of comic convention?" Ran tilted her head to the side. "I've heard they come up with new cosplay designs all the time."

"Doubt it," Aoko sighed. "He looked like some bizarre businessman. And, when he looked at me, it seemed like he was being really serious about something."

"He looked at you?" Ran's eyes widened before she, too, shared Kazuha's mischievous look.

"Only briefly," she said in swift dismissal, "and then he got up and left. Didn't you see him leave just a few seconds ago?"

All four of her friends shook their heads, muttering about how they would havenoticed if some strange man had appeared. Kazuha's expression switched from one of cat-like curiosity to one of concern. "Did ya get enough sleep last night?" she asked. "Or are ya over-working your shift as a police officer?"

"Neither," she retorted firmly. "Are you sure you didn't see him? He was as plain as day."

Shinichi rubbed his forehead. "Trust me, if we all say we didn't see him than we didn't. I didn't even see him and you should take my word for it because I, for one, am_ very_ adept at observing my surroundings."

The brown-haired girl beside him sighed before turning to Aoko. "He's preening himself again."

"Like a peacock."

They both burst into laughter. Shinichi quickly inquired upon their conversation but the girls blocked him out with more giggles. Kazuha and Heiji watched them quietly before joining in with small fits of their own, completely confusing the brown-haired detective across from them. He prodded them all with puzzled inquiries before finally giving up and began to sulk as they all laughed even harder.

And, not long after, the topic of the man in white was swiftly forgotten about.

* * *

After the meeting with her friends, they all agreed to return to their individual homes before the hour grew dark. Ran and Shinichi waved goodbye to the group before they departed to their own apartment complex. Heiji bade his own farewell to Kazuha and Aoko to continue his shift at the agency and then, soon after, Kazuha left Aoko to return to her own house.

"See you tomorrow!" the Osaka girl told Aoko as she slipped into her car.

Aoko echoed the words with a grin. "See you tomorrow."

The engine hummed to life and Kazuha waved at her. "Bye!"

"Goodbye!"

With a growl, the car pulled out of the parking lot and prowled slowly onto the streets. Aoko watched as her friend cautiously glanced both ways before pulling out into the lanes of traffic. When the girl's vehicle disappeared from view, she turned to her purse and fished out her keys. Once she found the desired object, she spun around to face her own car; a rose-red truck that carried with it hints of history. Dents and scratches marked its flank, but they were too small to be noticed outright. She almost fancied the tiny marks, appreciating the weathered look it gave her car.

Pulling the door open, she took a step in and settled herself on the comfy leather seats. Plugging her keys into the ignition, she turned them and provoked the car to life. With an idle hum, the vehicle obliged as it allowed itself to be guided out of the parking lot slot and into the lanes that separated them. Aoko felt a bit pleased as she managed to slide into traffic without the use of a blaring siren. Police cars were okay-looking, but the noisy blue-and-red lights they carried were unexplainably annoying. Even if it was a warning sign for people to pull over, she still didn't appreciate the noise that ground itself into her ears.

She pushed down on the gas pedal and followed behind the second lane of cars, idle fingers landing upon the radio knob that controlled her radio stations. She pushed it and, instantaneously, the music of her favorite station blared from her speakers. Loud notes of what seemed to be rock music pushed at her ear drums. Giving a grimace, the girl reached over and adjusted the volume so that the station was playing in softer tones.

Briefly, she glanced at the rearview window…

...And saw the face of the white-cloaked man glancing back at her.

Brain muddled with shock, Aoko clutched at the steering wheel to prevent her car from serving into a potentially catastrophic car accident. With quick intakes of breath to prevent herself from suffering from the results of her fright, the girl glanced back to check if he was still there.

An empty seat met her startled gaze.

Her eyebrows furrowed and she rubbed at her temple with her left hand. "Oh dear god," she muttered. "It's a ghost, isn't it? An actual ghost has come to haunt me."

But, even if she was entertained with the idea of making contact with the paranormal, her brain refused to believe her words. The conscious reasoning inside of her sharply offered that ghosts were not real and that it was likely a hallucination from the stress of her job. The other, more fantasy-prone, side of her protested and begged for her to call for the illusion once again. But a second glance behind her convinced her otherwise. There was no man cloaked in white in the passenger's seat. She was just tired, that was all.

Giving a sigh, Aoko pulled her car onto the main lane and continued her drive home.

She did not see him again for the entire ride back.

* * *

By the time she reached her house, the sky had become tainted with traces of red and purple. A cool chill had settled in the air, leaving her shivering as she escaped from the warmth of car and onto the concrete driveway that snaked to her doorstep. With a shudder, she approached her door with hurried steps and pulled out her jangling keys to quickly unlock the structure. Hurriedly pushing at the doorknob, she managed to slip inside and shut the door before the cold could snap at her skin much longer.

Depositing her keys into the little bowl beside her coat rack, Aoko made her way towards the living room. The warmth occupying the room there wrapped around her and erased the goosebumps on her arms. With a sigh, she sat down and grabbed at the magazine she had left sitting around earlier.

She glanced at the title, smiling warmly. It read: _Experiences With the Other Side of Death._ It was a simple article, one recounting the many tales of haunted houses and other ghost-inhibited areas, but it was one of her favorites. She had owned it for a total of five years, having toted it from her college years to the current day with as much care as she could give it. Of course, the pages were still worn and a few stains marked the glossy paper, but it was still very readable.

Aoko started on one of her favorite stories, a tale regarding a boy's experience of a poltergeist in his house. The tale began rather creepily, with randomly moved objects and a sickly sweet voice, before ending on a bittersweet note. The boy, having found that a girl nearly his age had been murdered within the house he and his parents lived in, identified the killer and brought him to justice. The poltergeist then left a message detailing her gratefulness and left for the other side, having fulfilled her mission of being avenged and telling her parents how much she missed them.

Tears pricked at the woman's eyes as she finished the story. No matter how many times she read it, the tale was still a heart-wrenching one. Setting the magazine back down, she tried to regain her composure. With a few deep breaths, she took a quick glance out the window and noticed the sun had already descended from the sky.

_Thunk._

Something hit the floor, releasing a soft but very noticeable sound. With sudden alertness, the girl stood up and abandoned her magazine on the living room table. "Who's there?" she asked.

No one answered. But that was to be expected. Who else would answer such a rhetorical question when breaking into someone's home?

With a frown, she slowly approached the hallway that led to both the bathroom and her own sleeping quarters. The brown-haired girl peered down into the dark depths of her room. Warily, she flicked on the light switch, expecting someone to be standing on the other side.

Instead, she was met with the sight of a fallen mop.

She let out a small sigh, picking the object back up and placing it back into its leaning position against the wall. When the object stayed in place, she gave it a glare. "I almost thought it was a ghost," she whispered - mostly to herself. "But there's no way my house can be haunted. I've been living here for two years now and nothing's happened out of the ordinary."

Not that her heart cared. The organ was racing in her chest, excited by the possibility of having contact with a poltergeist. Though she admit that the falling mop had scared her, the notion of meeting a paranormal entity enthralled her way too much to care.

Still, the thought of a possible burglar breaking in lingered in her mind. Eyes hardening, the girl grabbed at the mop beside her and approached her bathroom door. She'd put it back in its place again later because safety always proceeded before perfection.

She eased the door open carefully but was not jumped by any robbers. Her gaze swept the room warily for any disturbances. However, as the bathroom appeared to be as pristine as it was before, she moved on to her own room.

Nothing was moved there either. Her bed was still messy, bedsheets tossed in the same exact position as she remembered them. Her family portrait was kept in place and the jewelry she had left carelessly beside it was still present. Aoko searched the room carefully before she stepped forward to snatch a can of pepper spray from her drawer.

It didn't hurt to be safe, after all.

The girl exited and slowly shifted towards the kitchen. A quick glance and she moved onto the living room. However, upon finding that both places were exactly as she had left them, and that none of her jewels had been taken, she reluctantly returned to the end of the hallway and repositioned the mop back into its proper place.

Her guard dropped, she slipped into her bathroom and placed the pepper spray on the counter that sat underneath her mirror. Aoko removed her clothes from her body and took a step into her shower, turning the knob to turn onto warm. Though she was met with an initial blast of cold, the warmth appearing short after her kept her satisfied. She combed her hands through her wet hair and relaxed as the spray settled over her back.

* * *

When she finally removed herself from the shower and stepped back into the hallway, she was met with the faintest scent of cinnamon. Curious, - as she did not remember lighting any candles regarding the smell - she approached the kitchen. And, as she did, the scent got stronger.

However, upon entering the area, she quickly realized that there were no candles or items to explain the sweet aroma. With some amount of confusion, she turned her eyes to the only out-of-place item in the room. It was a glossy book-like object but thin in shape. A bolded title of _Experiences with the Other Side _lingered on the front page, making her heart beat faster as her eyes re-read the words.

Someone had moved her magazine…and it hadn't been her.

* * *

AN: Eight pages later and here we are. Probably my first multiple-chaptered story for this fandom and, if you can't tell, I really adore all the characters in it. I'll try to keep them as in-character as possible but I can't guarantee that the growth that applies to some characters (such as the level of maturity and caution exercised during his timeframe as Conan) will make its appearance due to the plot being different. Kaito is not Kid (as in, the actual thief), everyone is older and around their 26-27's, they all have jobs according to their lives in the anime/manga and many other things. None of the main characters are together yet and, of course, there's some supernatural stuff in here.

…And, that's about it. Well, anyways, this is only the introduction chapter so I'll probably work on getting the other chapters to be longer in length. Expect more in the future (once Chemistry stops being a pain, that is).

Ciao!


	2. Bank Heist

Review Responses:

** 66ButterflyOfDarkness**-I agree, supernatural stories are very awesome! :D

** Guest-**Yep, one update coming right up!

** Yannami-**Ah, Kaito. Yeah, he'll be showing up very, very soon...

** Creative Ninja Princess-**Thanks! I wanted to practice with more diverse characters (since I'm working on creating characters of my own) and figured it'd be best to use already-complex characters and combine them with AU traits to try and get a feel for how to write them better. Oh, and Chemistry's good so far (aside from our new seating charts and the fact that I'm completely dreading this quiz we have. I really, really hate conversion factors and the whole name-the-Chemistry-compound-or-write-the-formula thing we have to do. Rant aside, thank you for reading this story!)

** SilverSapphire34523-**Yep, Kaito's a ghost because, really, a dude dressed almost entirely in white (his Kid outfit) kinda deserves to be a specter in an AU supernatural story.

* * *

Chapter Two - Bank Heist

After the encounter with the moving magazine, Aoko could not say whether she was genuinely frightened or excited. She hadn't touched it since its teleportation into the kitchen but just the idea of _entering_ the area made her back shudder. It was unexplainable, really, but she felt that the kitchen was the one thing that finally connected her to the paranormal. She considered it as sort of holy place, feeling the need to skirt around it whenever the opportunity arose to come closer.

Perhaps that explained why she hadn't eaten breakfast yet.

Though genuinely starving after waking up the next day (as she had skipped dinner the night before in favor of leaving the kitchen as a sacred and untouched state-of-being) she had somehow managed to get dressed and organized without her need for her customary breakfast, but the pains of hunger were now digging into her. Claws of hunger were pricking at her stomach, demanding food in exchange for the lessening of her ailment. And, had Aoko been an avid fan of anything other than coffee shops and cafes, she would've already fled her apartment for some pickings of fast food. But, as her stubbornness demanded, she would have to enter her kitchen if she wanted to eat.

Precariously, she stood at the dividing copper strip that acted as the boundary line between the living room and the dining room. Looking over and into the other room, she was almost surprised to find that, aside from the misplaced book, everything was still left as organized as she had left it. The countertops were still clean, the cupboard doors shut, and the refrigerator was still obliviously humming away in the background. An oak table with a pale teal vase stood in the center, flanked by five chairs. Several condiment holders idly surrounded the decorative container, sprinkled about in the same lazy way as she had left it.

Her stomach growled loudly, urging her to step into the space beyond her. Digging her teeth nervously into her lips, Aoko cautiously took a step forward, expecting her poltergeist to immediately react to her presence.

Nothing happened.

With a swift _woosh_ of a breath she didn't know she had held, the messy-haired girl strode over to her refrigerator and opened the door. She grabbed a carton of eggs from the top shelf and brought them over to her stove. Aoko retrieved her frying pan and turned on the oven, placing the tool on the stovetop. Soon after, she carefully cracked the eggs over the kitchen utensil, watching for any traces of eggshells before she moved onto the next one. She waited a few minutes for the eggs to cook before she settled for putting them on a plate and approaching her dining table.

Aoko sat down, enjoying the blissful silence of her house before quickly realizing that she forgotten to turn off the stove. With a scowl, the girl reluctantly left her breakfast alone in favor of shutting down the appliance. However, as she neared the electronic, she found that the knob had already been placed at zero. _I must've turned it off when I wasn't paying attention, _she reasoned with a chuckle, sliding back into place.

Her eyes wandered to her plate, eyes widening with she found that a small portion of her scrambled eggs bore striking resemblance to something like teeth marks. She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the image of someone else piercing their fangs into her food. With a bit of confusion (she didn't even _remember_ taking a bite) she cut the section off with her fork. She then shoved the other, non-mutated area into her mouth, savoring the fluffy taste that sat on her taste buds. Smiling childishly, Aoko chewed on it before swallowing the eggs.

Once down, she abandoned the leftover scrap in the garbage and placed the plate into her sink. From there, she headed over to the coat rack that stood beside the entrance of her house. Aoko grabbed her coat, draped it over her body, and then slung her purse over her shoulders. She approached the door and pulled it open.

The girl was greeted by a gust of cold air. Shuddering at the sheer touch of it, Aoko hurried to her car's side. She pulled out her keys from her purple purse. Her hands inserted the keys into place and unlocked the vehicle.

"Good morning!"

With a slight jump, Aoko looked up to see one of her neighbors eagerly staring at her. It was Shiho Miyano, her next-door neighbor. The other woman was eyeing her expectantly, an eager, almost out-of-character grin plastered onto her face. And, though Aoko had only met up with Shiho on a few brief and fleeting occasions, she was almost sure that Shiho _never _grinned at someone unless that someone was her sister. So, it was almost concerning when she found the normally reclusive woman beaming at her.

"Uh, good morning?" she began cautiously.

Shiho tilted her head at the response and frowned. "Nice day, isn't it?" she murmured, glancing up at the crisp blue sky above.

"It's just a bit chilly," she plugged her keys into the car lock and twisted it, "but, yeah, otherwise, it's a pretty nice day."

"You going somewhere?"

Aoko began to feel that Shiho was either desperately wishing to talk to her, or, better yet, the lady was stalling Aoko from leaving. Normally, Aoko would vote for the former but, in the case of her next-door neighbor, she tossed aside the idea for the latter option.

The brunette turned to the strawberry-blonde lady. "Yeah, to work."

"Mmm. Is it fun?" Shiho's voice had taken on a tone of sincere curiosity.

"What, my job?" she squirmed uncomfortably as the girl's eyes swept between Aoko and the car. "It's alright, I guess. Taking down criminals here and there and such."

"Well...okay," the woman paused, hesitating, before she smiled. "It was nice talking to you."

"You too," Aoko pulled the door open and returned her keys to her purse.

Shiho gave her a nod. "Well, I guess you'll probably be late if I keep you any longer. I'm sorry if I inconvenienced you or anything."

The girl shook her head, trying to shake off the creeped-out feeling that was slowly crawling up her back. Instead, she tried a polite smile and said, "No, it's okay. It was…pleasant. To have a conversation with you, I mean."

Her face lit up childishly and Aoko had to suppress a cringe as she slid into her car. She slammed the door and cautiously backed up, watching as Shiho walked steadily away and back towards the direction of her own house. Aoko swiveled her car around and began to drive onto the streets, watching the rearview mirror almost subconsciously as her gaze followed Shiho's reflections.

On her face was a look of lost thought, brows tied together in a worried sort of way. She glanced up to see Aoko's watchful stare and then gave the girl a respectful but distracted nod. Aoko almost smiled at the action, finding it the most in-character response she had gotten from Shiho all day.

* * *

The Ekoda Police Station was already abuzz with activity as soon as Aoko stepped inside. Fellow co-workers rushed back and forth, shouting and demanding things left and right as they carried files to and fro. Most had looks of worry or even alarm, desperately shuffling from one side of the building to the other as they shouting out commands that Aoko didn't even understand._ One step in and I'm already seeing bad luck. God, why is everyone in such a panic today? _

In a sudden need for answers, her gaze settled on the calmest individual and she hurried eagerly towards that person.

"Keiko!" she called.

The brown-haired girl looked up from the cubicle she was sitting in, hands hovering over the keyboard she had previously been typing on. She grabbed the cup of coffee next to her and took a casual sip from it. "Ah, Aoko. It's good that you're here," Keiko murmured. "Listen, you should probably head upstairs right now."

"Why, what's going on?"

"Bank robbery," Keiko pointed to the screen and Aoko glanced at the monitor. On it was a display of a bank with five men dressed in black. Twelve or so more people also sat huddled in the background, shaking and trembling. Aoko's eyes hardened.

She peered closer, eyes glancing to the robber's hands and then widening. "Are those…guns!?" she nearly screeched the words but a warning glance from Keiko quickly reminded her that the police station did not need anymore panic than it already had. Aoko sent her an apologetic look and tried to retain a more serious expression. "Can you inform me of the situation so far?"

"The building was taken hostage about an hour ago by a man named Daigo Kurasaki. He and his four assistants have already retrieved millions of dollars from the bank's vault and have claimed to have a bomb in their possession. Currently, they are threatening to kill all the hostages with it unless they can make a clean escape."

Aoko frowned. "But what if the police doesn't meet with their commands? Are they just going to kill themselves along with the hostages?"

Keiko shook her head. "We don't know. Inspector Nakamori himself considered the possibility but we don't know how they think. That's probably why he gathered most of our officers upstairs."

"Dad's holding a conference?"

"Apparently. We already have officers stationed outside the bank but the main contact between us and the robbers is through the bargaining we're currently doing with them."

"Who's negotiating?"

"A detective by the name of Hakuba."

"Wait, a _detective?_" Aoko bit her lip. "But isn't it the police's responsibility to make sure the bargaining between us and the robbers goes smoothly? How do we even know we can trust this Ha-kui-ba character?" She pronounced the name like it was a foreign word, slowly listing off the syllables as best she could remember them.

"Hakuba," Keiko corrected tersely. "Well, anyways, he's the only one calm enough to man this situation as it is. Everyone else here is either panicking, guarding the bank, or upstairs trying to think of a solution while the detective stalls for us. We should consider ourselves lucky that we have someone collected and clever enough to handle the situation for us."

She didn't feel convinced but let the issue slide as she turned to the closest flight of stairs. "I think I'll go and join them upstairs."

"Okay," Keiko pushed her glasses back. "I'll keep an eye on the situation here."

Aoko nodded and ascended the steps. Her feet skidded across the tile flooring as she removed them from the last step and then progressed into the nearest room to the right of her. A flood of conversation greeted her into the room and a few officers squeezed together to make space for her. She nodded to them and leaned against the wall, eyes soaking in the situation at hand.

Unlike the floor below, the conference room was relatively calmer. There was much more tension in the air but it wasn't quite as loud as Keiko's workspace had been. Most of her co-workers had taken to whispering to each other, no doubt gossiping about possible solutions as their police inspector - a loud-spoken man with black hair and a thin mustache - led the debate. Aoko leaned closer to make out his words, focusing on her dad's figure as he spoke.

"-need a solution!" he growled, facing the crowd of policemen. "We've only got two hours before that bomb could explode or maybe even less if the culprit grows tired of bargaining! Twelve people have already been taken hostage and we need to be sure to obtain their safety before we can even begin to think about arresting those robbers."

"But, sir," a voice chirped. "Why can't we just give into their demands and let them go? Everyone would be happy then!"

A few officers groaned, heads placed in their hands. The lone officer - who Aoko immediately suspected as a newbie to the force - gave them innocent looks before placing his attention back on the inspector.

Nakamori shook his head. "That won't do. By letting them off scot-free not only do we lose our credibility as a police force but we also risk more potential robberies. By avoiding this one we're just teaching them to repeat their actions and, likely, we'd only end up in the same situation again. Plus, having a potential bomb doesn't even _begin_ to allow us to think that we can just let them go. If we do, who's to say they won't pull the trigger while we aren't looking and kill twelve innocents unprovoked?"

"Ah…true. My mistake."

The crowd exchanged more whispers, distress written on their faces. Aoko could tell that they were still at a loss for what to do and she longed to spout a solution to solved everything. However, even as she consulted her mind for ideas, the brunette found she had no clue on where to start. Was a solution even possible?

"Oi, Inspector Nakamori?" everyone's heads perked up towards the young officer who had spoken. "Have we, uh, tried looking through the files of previous cases like this? I mean, surely something like this has happened in the past. Why don't we just try to apply the solutions from those times now?"

"Can't," Nakamori said flatly and the other officers stared at him with puzzled looks. "Don't you remember? Those files have been transferred to Beika City to help with a murder investigation."

"What about back-up copies?"

"In the care of Osakan police at the moment. It appears they are also involved in some sort of case regarding Beika's criminals - or so I've heard - and needed it desperately at the last moment. The copies aren't due back until tomorrow and, as you see, we clearly don't have enough time to sit around and twiddle our thumbs."

The officer grunted and rubbed his neck with a look of frustration. Aoko watched him in sympathy for a moment before she crossed her arms and sighed. "This is horrible," she muttered.

One of her co-workers shifted to turn his head at her and nod. "It is," he agreed with a grim smile. "If only we could figure out a way to manipulate them all."

She tilted her head. "Hmm?"

He gave her an embarrassed look. "Ah, no, I was just thinking that, maybe if we somehow got them to come outside with the bomb we could secure it while they're not looking...or something."

Aoko stared at him and the guy blinked nervously. "Uh? Did I say something wrong?" he inquired.

The woman shook her head. "No, I'm just tempted to say that that's a rather unique idea," she frowned and tapped her chin. "Unfortunately, that still wouldn't work. If they carried the bomb with them we'd still be putting risk on the lives of other civilians in case they decided to detonate it."

"…Right," he smiled sheepishly. "I guess it's really hard to consider the sake of others when we're focusing on the lives of hostages instead."

"Hard indeed," Aoko agreed with a sigh. "Our top priority is rescuing the hostages but the bomb puts a lot of stress on us as a whole. If we're not careful, that thing could blow everyone to bits."

He grimaced at the notion and she found herself reflecting his expression as the thought of possible carnage. Like everyone else, she preferred to take in the hostages safe and sound but, if negotiations somehow took a wrong turn…well, she hoped it wouldn't come to that...

However, as if fate had decided to make her train of thought a reality, a man in a brown coat burst into the conference room. The sea of officers parted as he made his way to the inspector. "Bad news," the newcomer told the inspector, completely disregarding the crowd behind him. "The robbers have already becoming tired of bargaining and have out-right threatened us with only one hour left to make a decision."

"And our options?" Nakamori demanded, voice raised so as to oppose the worried chatter of the crowd around him.

"They claim that our choices consist of only two options; that we either let them go or they'll slowly start to shoot down hostages."

"What about the bombs, Hakuba?"

He shook his head. "It seems they plan to use it after there is one hostage left - most likely for more leverage if shooting hostages won't give them freedom."

"Damn it!" Nakamori slammed his hand down on the table and stared at the blonde man. "Do you have any advice for what to do now, detective?"

Hakuba shoved his hands into his pockets, looking frustrated. "We could dispatch some officers for a real negotiation. We need to…to draw them out. Or, at least, lure them into a sense of safety. They're probably panicking and angry, unable to escape and getting antsy about it. If we could make sure that the bomb they carry can't be triggered by outside sources and separate the two, I'm sure we could capture them. However, there is no guarantee that they won't take the bomb with them or that there's no remote connected to it."

"It's the best plan we have," Nakamori growled and turned his gaze to his men. "Alright, as you just heard, I want a team of officers to head down to the scene of the heist. It is best that we try to make the criminals feel safe enough to leave but it is also important that the bomb is taken care of. Of course, a bomb squad has already been dispatched to the scene to avoid a worst-case scenario. And, since we have no way of knowing what could trigger it - electrical signals, remotes, and the like - I want you all to be very careful in drawing them out. This is a very risky mission and I'd prefer for not a single person to be harm or injured, alright? Only make movements if you're certain it will preserve everyone's lives! Am I clear?"

The officers nodded slowly, subdued by the nature of the situation. Nakamori frowned at their attitude and turned to Hakuba. "I really hate to ask this of you but, could you possibly help out the chosen team in negotiating? I know police work isn't your forté but we might need your reasoning skills to help avoid angering our criminals."

"I can do it," the man said firmly. "I've had some practice from the superintendent in these type of matters and I'm confident I can manage some petty robbers."

Nakamori narrowed his eyes at the show of confidence but did not pursue the conversation. Instead, his gaze switched over to the man standing beside Aoko. "Yamabuki, can you lead the negotiation group?"

"I can, sir," he nodded, suddenly straightening up. "But…who is coming with me?"

"Take Aoko and Ezura with you. Hakuba, as you already know, is attending too. The less there are the better."

"Yes," Yamabuki frowned and turned his gaze to each of the selected candidates. "Are you all okay with me driving?"

"I don't mind," Aoko shook her head and Ezura nodded in silent agreement.

Hakuba scoffed and slid his hands into his pockets. "As long as you don't get us killed, I suppose it'll be fine with me."

The detective slid through the crowd of officers and stood by Aoko. He spared her a short glance before he walked away, a small smile scratching upon his features. Hakuba's silence struck some sort of nerve in her and, in an attempt to shake off it off, she scowled and hurried after him.

* * *

It took thirty minutes for them all to arrive at the scene.

As Aoko stepped out of the car, she was greeted by the sight of fellow co-workers breaking away to eagerly engage the situation. Within seconds she was bombarded by frantic officers with questions like "Do you know when everything is going to get better?", "The Inspector _did_ say it was going to be alright, _right?_" and "There's a bomb, can't you _do_ something about it!?". Aoko could only respond to them with stunned silence, her attention divided between the multitudes of blue-cloaked people who awaited her reply. And, before she could even open her mouth to spout out words, Hakuba stepped protectively in front of her.

"Calm down," he said with a polite, crisp voice. "We _will_ have this situation under our hands. Just remain quiet and return to your posts. We don't need the entire police force to embarrass themselves with runaway robbers while they team-up against one of their own."

With some half-hearted protests and a few cold glances from Hakuba, the group backed off and returned into position. Aoko gave him a nod. He ignored it and turned to one of the officers that had hidden behind the obstructing line of police cars, a radio-phone in his hands. The detective approached the man. "Sir," he began and the officer glanced up in the blonde man's direction, "does that device happen to connect to the inside of the bank?"

He shrugged. "It could. I dunno, I've never tried it before 'cause I've only ever used it for talkin' to the statio-hey! I was usin' that!"

Hakuba ignored the man's complaints as he tinkered with the phone. "Tell me, what is this banks' number?"

Someone automatically answered, stuttering numbers that Aoko was too slow to catch but that Hakuba picked up on in an instant. His fingers hesitated for a brief millisecond before they swept over the small keypad with surprising expertise, pressing each button at a rapid pace. He tapped the call button and turned his gaze to the bank in front of them. Aoko followed his example, almost surprised when she saw one of the black-cloaked men pick up what seemed to be an old-fashioned house phone.

"Yes?" the shout of someone resounded from the device, voice slightly muffled but loud enough to still be audible. "Who is this and what do ya want?"

"This is Saguru," the man stated languidly. "And we're here to reach an agreement."

"An agreement?" there was a slight bark and, from inside the bank, the man gestured to another of his cohorts.

The man on the other end snatched the phone from his minion and snarled into it. "What sort of agreement are we asking for?" he asked, shooting a glare out the glass windows of the bank.

Hakuba responded in a calm and soft manner. "A...deal. One that you'll find appreciable."

A pause. "Well, what is it?"

"We'll allow you and your men to go outside on two conditions: one, you tell us the location of the bomb as well as the device used to control it. Two, you _will_ not harm the hostages inside the bank on any account."

The swarm of police grew quiet as they awaited the man's answer, swinging their heads cautiously towards the doors as the robbers - and hostages - stared back. Aoko shifted her gaze towards Hakuba, carefully noting how tight his hands wrapped around the radio-phone device to the point of paling.

"No," the single word sent ripples of surprise down the crowd. "I don't agree to those terms."

Hakuba frowned, a flicker of irritation sweeping over his features. Aoko felt the sudden urge to reassure him but found any attempt to do so cut off as he buckled over. Without warning, the blonde detective fell to his knees, clutching a hand to his head in an attempt to ward off whatever ailment he was feeling. A few other officers dropped to his side, calling his name as they shook his shoulders almost desperately.

A gunshot.

The very sound of it made Aoko's blood run cold. She quickly abandoned her worry for Hakuba for the potential fear of a shot at hostage. The girl's sapphire eyes searched the inside of the bank for the sight of a bloodied corpse but she swiftly found that the sight was quite opposite of what she had expected.

One of the few robbers who had been guarding the hostages had turned his gun at his boss, an unsure look on his face. Behind the larger man sat another gun just five feet away, tossed at an awkward robber snarled something at his lesser, fear and anger clearly etched upon his features, before the former hostage guard held his gun up clear, abandoning the now-dangling phone.

In a moment of inspiration, Aoko snatched the radio that had dropped from Hakuba's hands, tuning the volume so she could catch snippets of what was going on inside. "Why are...doing…?" the head robber asked, voice quailing greatly in comparison to his tone before. "How dare...turn...us? What...the bomb?"

His minion answered in a more firm and determined way. "Where...find…?"

Aoko wished one of the robbers was holding the house phone to the robbers to better catch the conversation. The few words she was receiving provided little to no context of the situation inside. Still, she listened, beckoning for her co-workers to stay quiet as she tried to piece together the events that were unfurling inside.

"Hostages...dead...use..."

"No!" the shorter of the arguing duo snapped, waving his weapon. "We must not...tell me where _that_ is!"

The voices were cut off by one of the outside henchman slamming the phone down on its receiver, sending nasty glares in the direction of Aoko. She quickly cursed her luck before turning off the radio.

"What do we do?" Ezura murmured. "What's going on inside of there?"

"The robbers are arguing with each other," Yamabuki stated matter-of-factly. "And we don't know how or why this development occurred. Does anyone know what we should do next?"

Everyone shook their heads with small mutters of "no". Aoko found herself clutching her left arm with her right hand, nails nervously digging into her jacket sleeve. _If only Shinichi and Heiji were here,_ she thought with a frown, _then we could have two geniuses backing us up right now. There's no way we're going to get in and there are at least twelve_ _hostages and one bomb on their side...there's no way possible to approach them now!_

"Hey, one of them's leaving!"

Aoko jerked her head towards the scene of the heist, almost stunned to see one of the robber's exiting the building in the short frame of time that she had avoided watching them. The black-cloaked man approached them slowly, gun still drawn in hand but with the addition of a small black box. From inside the building, Aoko noticed the three men left behind were all unconscious, their figures limp and with anger still curled upon their faces. Aoko briefly noted how the other three had been disposed of cohort kept walking, his gait unhurried as he approached the police with quick but easy steps.

Immediately, everyone tensed, unsure of how to proceed. A few raised their weapons to him but the robber just kept walking.

Beneath Aoko, Hakuba stirred from the ground, groggily rising up as if waking from a dream. He slowly raised to his feet, eyes warily taking in his surroundings. The man frowned before realizing that there was a man with gun approaching them. "Why is he here?" Hakuba asked, fingers sliding unconsciously between the locks of golden hair placed between his forehead. It seemed that whatever sickness had plagued him minutes before was still affecting him mentally.

Yamabuki addressed the detective with discomfort clear in his eyes. "We don't know," he muttered with frustration, "if the bomb's been disarmed or even if this is some kind of act those thieves are putting on."

"It's not, inspector," a voice spoke up, bold and rash. Everyone's attention singled upon the man who had just departed from the bank. He carefully dropped his weapon and then raised his hands up in a sign of submission. "We surrender to the Ekoda police. The bomb has already been disarmed and the hostages have been allowed to go."

Aoko spared a quick glance to see that, as the man had said, the hostages left inside the bank were trickling out nervously. A few of them spread out into the arms of police officers, gaining reassurance of safety while others chose to stand behind the barrier of police cars and out of fight of the unconscious robbers. The police women scowled, turning her attention back to the now-handcuffed thief.

"I don't understand," she said. "Why did you do it?"

The man regarded her with a wild gaze, his sudden act of calmness quickly broken. "Why did I do what?" he asked, voice panicked.

She felt the need to explain. "Disarm the bomb and attack your partners?"

"I did _what?_" he shrieked, hands suddenly going up over his head. "Oh no, oh no, oh no, the boss is going to _kill_ me for this! The plan was so perfect - we were going to be rich!" he paused. "Am I going to jail for this?"

Aoko's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. _Odd, he seemed perfectly okay about betraying his comrades earlier. Putting on a brave showfront and knocking out his partners and, well, of course he's going to end up in jail regardless. A robbery is a robbery. Didn't he know that would happen the moment he surrendered?_

Something white flashed through the corner of her eyes. Aoko perked her head up, mouth almost gaping as she caught the sight of the man in white. He was perched at the other end of the ring of police, his head twisting back and forth between the other buildings of Ekoda. A shadow covered his face, stemming from the brim of his top hat. He carried himself with an air of confidence, passing through the crowd with surprising ease. Out of curiosity, she abandoned her investigation on the robber, and began to plod towards the man-in-white, plowing through a crowd of fellow co-workers on her way to do so.

"Sir!" she called, hands reaching out to push more people recklessly. "Can I talk to you? Sir!"

_How idiotic_, Aoko thought. Of course he wouldn't hear her. She was practically yelling at an figment of another world. He was a complete stranger to her and, as such, probably would pay little attention to her voice. _Especially_ in a large crowd filled with nothing but anxious news reporters, reunited family members, and joyous police officers.

Even so, it seemed her words carried to him. He turned to her slowly, the top hat moving above his face so that his indigo eyes met her desperate gaze. A sly grin pierced his features. He raised a finger to his lips almost childishly before he flickered out of view.

She stared at the spot where he had disappeared, somehow lonely and agitated at the same time. Her teeth bit nervously into the skin of her bottom lip, unsure of how to continue. Should she consult a doctor about these…_hallucinations _that she was experiencing? _Surely_, the rational side of her thought, _this is all in my imagination? _

But the supernaturally-obsessed person inside of her begged to differ. _It's a ghost, I'm sure of it. How else could it look so life-like and act so tangibly?_

A hand landed on her shoulder. "Miss Nakamori? Are you alright?"

Aoko looked to see Hakuba staring at her worriedly. She flushed an embarrassed red, realizing that she had probably been staring at the same spot for over a minute for no probable reason.

"I-I'm fine," she stuttered swiftly. "Just thinking about something troubling me at home. Moreover, how are you doing? That attack you just had was pretty nasty."

He regarded her with puzzlement before a slight flicker of recognition sweeped through his face. "Ah...that. I guess I can say I'm doing fine but...it's odd."

"Odd?"

"I don't know. I just felt disoriented one moment and, well, the next moment I…" he faltered before shoving his hands into the pockets of his brown coat. He frowned. "Well, anyways, I think we should report back to HQ. Inspector Nakamori will probably want us to follow up with him on the strange events of today."

She smiled slightly. "Yeah, father's probably worried about what happened. It's not everyday we have a bank heist with bombs and hostages."

The blonde man perked an eyebrow. "The inspector is your father?" he asked.

"Yep!"

"Hmm, I almost don't see the resemblance."

"Why's that?" She tilted her head inquiringly.

"Because you're more perky...and, I don't know,...thoughtful? He's more loud and brash from what I've seen, no offense," Hakuba paused, observing her for a second for any shout of anger before continuing. "I should probably head back to my house now. I expect my father will want a full report on my visit to your station."

"Really? What for?" Aoko frowned. "He's not directly involved in the police business, is he?"

"Well, my father_ is_ the superintendent of the police force," his voice replied in an irritated manner. Aoko's eyes widened in response but he continued speaking before she could muster up any form of apology. "He sent me here as an investigation into Ekoda's job efficiency. Of course, I was only supposed to supervise and not actually to _partake_ in the activities themselves."

Aoko almost found it strange how he regarded the word "partake" with obvious distrust. She made a move to question it but instead found herself distracted with the ringing of her cellphone. The brunette looked up apologetically. "Sorry, do you mind?"

He waved a hand. "No, not at all. I'll just go on ahead and report what I've seen today with the others. I'll just be going now."

She smiled . "Goodbye," she said politely.

"Goodbye," he replied tersely, voice adopting the same tone of respect.

He turned and briskly shoved his way through the police force, producing a cellphone to his ears. Aoko just barely caught the mention of a "taxi" before she held up her own device. Flipping the phone open, her eyes swiftly caught the message on the screen.

_Meeting's cancelled tonight. Heiji and Shinichi are off on another case and Ran's caught up in lawyer duty. See ya tomorrow?_

_-Kazu_

Aoko frowned at the prospect of skipping out on their daily dose of "social coffee", almost displeased. Normally, unless there were instances like these, the five of them spent almost every day meeting and greeting each other at the same coffee shop. It was like a ritual, a daily tradition that was first founded from their "friendiversary" they had held after escaping college for the first time. It was an event they all cherished, each cutting out hours of their lives each afternoon to attend. Of course, no one really hated it and no one really loved it, but it was the part of the few times they got to see and talk to each other outside of work and personal activities. Skipping out on it now only made the girl feel hollow at the idea of missing out.

Still, she supposed it wouldn't be all bad. There was certainly some things she wanted to clarify and, absent-mindedly, she began to think of rituals to summon the dead. While pent-up within the walls of her mind, she began to look for Yamabuki and - hopefully - a ride back to her workplace.

* * *

Upon arriving backat the police station, Aoko was immediately greeted by the roaring of her father's voice. "Aoko!" he shouted, greeting her with a wide and relieved grin. "I heard you guys all rescued the hostages and disarmed the bomb!"

"Well, it really wasn't us," she looked away. Yamabuki, who had driven her back to the station, slipped away into the crowd of officers. "It was Hakuba and the robber-turned-hero who saved the day. The rest of us were all scared of what to do, Inspector Nakamori."

He frowned at that. "You know, you don't have to call me that when you're off-duty."

"We're still inside the station, though," she pointed out. "And, besides, it's weird to call you 'dad' when you're in your uniform."

He scowled. "You think a lot of things are weird," he grumbled before perking up. "Oh, right, how's it going for you so far? Do you like living away from college? I know it's been three years since but living out on your own is pretty courageous..."

Aoko rolled her eyes. "It's okay. Though, it's been a bit lonely. There's no one to talk to now that I've graduated."

"Well, do you wish to come back home then?"

"Nah, I'm comfortable with where I live. It actually feels kind of nice to be living solo."

A slack grin pierced his features and he patted her head. "That's good! You've got a home and a job and now all you need is a husband!"

She blushed a vivid red. "Dad!" she complained, tossing away his hand. "I'm more concerned for the police force than finding myself a guy. I'm only twenty-six years old so I don't need to go out on dates yet!"

"But your friends are twenty-six years old and they're still not dating."

"That's different; they're all idiots," she found herself continuing with a slight hint of mockery. "Y'know, they say that idiots can't catch colds but I'm pretty sure they also can't catch a date with anyone around them."

"You're referring to Heiji?" he guessed with a distant look, as if remembering the many times Heiji had tried to ask Kazuha out before always being denied by an outside force.

"No, I'm referring to the _all_ of them. All lovestruck since they were four and yet none of them have had the courage to confess to the other."

Inspector Nakamori leaned upon the wall next to the door. "And yet, you seem jealous."

"Jealous?" annoyance bit at her words. "Jeez, dad, I can't be jealous of them. They're all soul-mates from the very start and, yet, I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't have a childhood romance…" she wavered under his triumphant gaze. "Okay, so maybe I _am_ a little bit jealous."

He grumbled something under his breath before immediately perking up, his slight jolt startling Aoko. The brunette watched as her father faced the direction of the office with a scowl. "Sorry, Aoko," he muttered. "I just remembered I've got to file the damned police reports before three o' clock. Otherwise, the Superintendent's going to get mad at me."

"Okay. Goodbye?"

"Goodbye," he echoed with a smile. He hurried up the set of stairs that appeared from the sides of the walls and vanished into them.

Aoko promptly left the station and returned to her car. She revved the engine up and then pulled out, maneuvering her way onto one of the many lanes in Ekoda.

* * *

When she arrived home and stepped inside her house, the smell of cinnamon burst in her face. The perfume-like scent traveled into her nostrils, the flavor unfamiliar and yet so welcoming. However, that pleasure spread to dread as she realized that, once again, she had _not_ left anything cinnamon-scented burning in her house. At least, not that she could remember.

Her hands tightened around the doorknob and she briefly considered a "hello?". But, her mind warned her otherwise, and she instead began to proceed towards one of the umbrellas that leaned against the walls. It wasn't a very ideal weapon, just some plastic pointy tip that might as well bruise a person before it wounded them, but it was the best thing she had at the moment. Cautiously, she tiptoed forward, proceeding through the hall that led from her door to the kitchen in slow steps.

"You really don't need to do that. I'm not some sort of burglar, y'know."

"S-Shit!" she dropped the umbrella and spun around towards the point where she the sound had come from: the kitchen.

Her eyes widened in shock and her hand covered her mouth. In front of her stood the same man she had witnessed at the coffee shop and at the police station. He was leaning against the edge of her table with familiarity. His cape spilled onto the surface below, while his monocle seemingly glinted with the light that filtered in from the window beside him.

The man tipped his white hat at her, seemingly grinning at her stunned silence. "Nice to finally meet ya, pink panties," he stuck out a hand. "My name's Kaito, and I need your help."

She blinked at him.

"_What!?_"

* * *

**Ah, Kaito, Kaito. You finally make your appearance. Which is good, I guess. He's going to be a fun yet difficult character to write (especially since he's so different from canon). And, to any Ai Haibara / Shiho Miyano / Sherry fans, don't fret over her weird first appearance. There will be an explanation as to why she is so…different from her normal self.**

**(SPOILERS for anyone not past episode 345) On another note, I just finished the Halloween Party episode and must say that I really, really adore Belmot (or Vermouth). And, _damn_ is she skilled. I mean, I knew all along Araide was really her in disguise (I had already looked up spoilers beforehand so I sort of knew it was coming) but she is a really, really great actor (which, I guess is kind of expected knowing that she is Chris Vineyard). I also like how they kind of alluded to the fact she never ages through Jodie, which, though never explained, seems like something that may be important later on (maybe she took the APTX several times over to remain that age? IDK). Plus, her show of confidence and sweetness towards Conan was really interesting in a way, knowing how she would never hurt him even if he thought otherwise. She's just an interesting character that I'd like to see more of in the future…(END of spoilers)**

**And, well, I don't have much else to say here. Aoko witnesses a bank heist and, while weird things happened to her, it seems she's finally found her ghost friend…**

**Ciao!**


	3. Possession

Sorry for the wait! I originally had planned to finish this around April but it seems I'm a month too late. Ah, well, whatever. Here's your almost monthly update of OotE!

Responses:

**KAITOAOKOKUROBA &amp; hitokori midnight**: Another chapter!

**Kalmaegi**: Kaito needs his daily dose of attention. Being a ghost must be very lonely, of course!

**Neonquincy1217**: Well, I'm glad you're enjoying this AU story! Here's another chapter!

**Guest**: Whether Shiho comes back as an important character or not has yet to be seen but, in general, this world _does_ have Akemi still alive and happy. The Black Organization doesn't exactly exist here, which is sort of the reason why Shinichi hasn't gone through any suffering as well, now isn't it?

**66ButterflyOfDarkness99:** Well, it wouldn't be Kaito without his perverted nature, now would it?

**Kameo1**: Yep, Kaito!Ghost is quite fun to write especially since he's ah, well…keep reading!

**SilverSapphire34523**: All I can tell you right now is to keep reading for now!

* * *

**Chapter 3 – A Phantom's Plea**

"_What!?_"

Kaito flinched at the sound of her voice, retracting his hand with an exasperated sigh. "Jeez, you sound like your best friend just asked you out on a date or something," he rubbed the back of his head. "Man, that scream though...makes me want to plug my ears with my nonexistent fingers."

"W-Who are you?" Aoko demanded, stooping down to pick up the umbrella. She aimed it at him.

As if upon instinct, he dodged away from the object. With a frown, he skirted around the table until he was on the opposite side of where she stood. "I _literally _just told you my name," he stated with irritation. "It's Kaito."

"No, I mean, why are you here? In _my_ house?"

He dodged another thrust from her umbrella and frowned. "I came here because I need your help. And, well, your house is like the cleanest thing I've seen in a while. I quite like it, it's...refreshing. I guess. Do you mind if I stay here for awhile?"

"You're a ghost!" she snapped, aiming at his torso.

It slipped through his ethereal body, forming a disturbing ripple-like pattern as it met with the man's ghostly flesh. She gaped and he snorted, clapping his hands slowly. "Yeah, and what else do you think I could be? A wizard? A monster? _Arsene Lupin?_ It must not be very obvious by my see-through body that I'm a ghost or - otherwise - you're just being an idiot."

A vein popped in her head and she gritted her teeth at the insult. Reaching over her table, she snatched the pepper shaker and tossed it in his direction. Tiny pepper particles cascaded over his body as they fell, slipping through his white suit and onto the ground. He stared at her. "Really?" he asked in exasperation. "_Pepper?_ That's for eating,_ not _for exorcism."

"What about salt?" she grabbed the other shaker and tossed it at him. Kaito gave her a disapproving look, unaffected as the white grains scattered to the floor. "Or even holy water?"

"Are you an idiot?"

"_Well,_ do they work or not?"

"They're all actually ineffective. I've tried them out beforehand and, well, it seems like Hell doesn't want me quite yet," he stated in monotone and the girl felt herself pondering if he was insane.

Faced with a sudden loss of motivation, Aoko stared up at him in defeat. He grinned at her, walking around the table to stand in front of her once. She took a step back in response but he simply stuck his hand out again. "Here, let's start again. For the _third_ time, my name is Kaito and I wish to enlist your help."

"Why should I help you?" she huffed. "You're rude and a jerk. Plus, you trespassed into my apartment_ without_ my permission! I'd say you're undeserving of help regardless of how desperate you are!"

"I'm a ghost, I can go anywhere I want," he flashed an arrogant look. "And I don't need some stupid girl's permission to enter whenever I want to."

"So much for wanting help," Aoko grumbled, partly to herself and partly to the strange man. "He says he wants Aoko to assist him but all he does is insult Aoko and belittle her."

An eyebrow was drawn up in response to the switch of word choice. "Since when did you talk in third person?"

"That is irrelevant. The question should be about what you want to ask of Aoko?"

Kaito's arrogant demeanor deflated noticeably as his hands went to fiddle with his silver monocle. He removed it from his face, revealing a second eye that followed its movements with eerie calm. Aoko watched him curiously, wondering both about why the boy wanted her help for, and was also pondering about _wait, how did he take that monocle off of his face?_

"Look," he began softly, calmly, but with his hands squeezing and unsqueezing the monocle, "this is hard enough as it is. I'm alone, lost, stuck in this body while my memory remains forgotten to me. I don't know who I am and I can't ask around because, hey, I'm _dead_. And, I've been trying for weeks to get someone to see me. But to everyone else in this world, I am nothing more than a breeze of unwanted wind. Unneeded. Out of sight and out of mind. And then you come along. And you can see me, can actually _see_ me, and I can see _you_. A real human being and not a ghost. Listen. I want to go. I don't want to be here, stuck forever out of the reach of Heaven as I wander forcibly without recognition of anything. I want to know who I am, who I _was_, so that I can finally move on to the sky."

Aoko felt her own irritation slip away as Kaito's voice cracked, his voice trailing off with shoulders slumping. The brown-haired girl moved her hand forward before setting it back down upon her lap. Against her conscious will, words flew to her lips. They were quiet and soft, but they were not quite devoid of the caution she felt towards him. "So, what you want to ask of me is to help you find out who you were in the past life? To dig up whatever memories remain of your previous body?"

He nodded somberly. "I want that so much. And that's all I ask of you, please."

"And how do I know you weren't some serial killer or mafia boss? What if who you thought you were is actually someone who, ultimately, will hurt you and change you as of now? Why should _I _help _you _when you have no clue on where to even start?"

The man deflated even more. "I know, I know," he shook his head, "I know I don't have a clue on who I was or where I lived. I don't know anything about my past life. It's not right of me to ask you such a thing when you hardly even know me. But...you're the only one who can see or hear me. So, please?"

She stared at him. "I...don't know," she admitted. "Mysteries aren't really my thing. I can only do so much as a fellow worker of the police. However, I could ask Shinichi or Heiji for help. They're-"

"Detectives, right?" Kaito snorted, scowling and showing a noticeable change in demeanor. "What could they do? All they do is go around pretending to be solvers of puzzles when really their nothing more than critics who judge the cons of some clever trickster with bloodied hands. What can they do for me when they can only critique the art of others?"

She stared at him blankly, a bit miffed that he had interrupted her so swiftly. "They," Aoko muttered, "are probably you're best chance at finding out who you are. Heiji and Shinichi may not seem like it, but they're actually really good at what they do. And if decoding mysteries isn't your fancy that's fine, but you have to acknowledge that this is a mystery well beyond your jurisdiction. Regardless of whether you hate detectives or not, you're going to need their help because I certainly can't."

He crossed his arms, looking loosely outraged. His brows furrowed and a deep frown creased his face, as if contemplating his options. Aoko watched him silently, taking particular notice of how he hovered over the edge of the table. It was weird, she thought, to see an actual ghost sitting before her. She never imagined one would appear before her much less inquire her service for a way to the other life. However, now that she was faced with such a specimen, Aoko found it almost wrong about how much she wanted to strangle his ghostly neck. Within the few short moments he had fully interacted with her, Kaito had managed to easily push too many of her buttons. Already, her temper was simmering, and if it were not for the sincere way he had asked for her help, she was pretty sure she would've already shut him down the moment he added in one more insult.

"Fine." His words were so soft she almost missed them.

"Then you agree?"

"Yes," the words sounded strangled, as if he was forcing himself to say them. "I'll do it."

"Great, than we can meet up with them this afternoon in the cafe again!"

Kaito looked up inquiringly. "Today? But didn't you just have one yesterday?"

"We always have a coffee break everyday after work," she explained. "As long as Shinichi and Heiji aren't running off on another case and as long as it isn't Saturday or Sunday, we can catch up to them and request their help."

"And, what are you going to say? 'Help me because I have a ghost who's talking to me?' or, better yet, 'Hey guys...so, turns out, I have a ghostly friend who needs your help so can you give him a metaphorical hand?'"

"Well, I haven't thought that far ahead. We'll just have to appeal to them somehow. But, trust me, as rational and reality-based as they are, all they need is a little conclusive evidence to figure out that you're real."

Kaito gave another thoughtful look before a knowing grin split his face. "I think I know how."

"Oh, do you now? Mind enlightening me on your _brilliant_ plan?"

The apparition smirked. "You'll just have to wait and see."

* * *

Work was slow. Work was always slow. Even if something like a bank robbery occurred - as it had yesterday - it would only take up a few hours of their time before slowness interrupted their lives yet again. This was clearly evident to Aoko as she entered into the police station, greeting idle coworkers as they sat observing their computer screens or tucking out of work to apprehend wannabe delinquents.

A few glanced up to greet her, ignoring Kaito as he leaned in to meet them face to face before he hovered over to Aoko, snickering at their obliviousness. After doing that, Kaito continued to make faces at her, sticking out his tongue and furrowing his eyebrows in odd ways as if to catch her attention. She tried her hardest not to acknowledge his existence, not wanting to arouse the curiosity of her coworkers should she blow up at any inanimate object.

Luckily, Keiko showed up before she could spend any time snapping at invisible people. They chatted for a bit, discussing the events of the heist of the previous day before gossiping about the suspected sentences for the criminals (Aoko bet at least ten years in prison for each criminal involved while Keiko bet five). After that, they went around on a routine patrol, found nothing in particular, and stated their goodbye's as they separated ways for the evening.

"Well, that was uneventful," Kaito muttered as he hovered alongside Aoko, hands in his pockets. "Just an old lady's discussion and a walk around the city."

"I'd watch your words if I were you. I could just as well defer your request just as easily as I could hand it to Shinichi and Heiji."

He scowled and held his hands up in quick surrender. "Fine, fine. I'll shut up."

"Good."

She opened her car door and slid in. He hovered into the seat beside her, settling into the spot with a yawn. Aoko stared at him in amusement.

He caught her look with a quizzical expression. "What? Is there something on my face or...are you enjoying the view?"

"Neither," she stated flatly. "I'm just wondering why you're able to sit like that without falling through it or something."

He shrugged. "I guess my ghostly physics can apply to anything if I want them to. I can touch people too, but I honestly prefer not to."

"Really now?" She frowned at him, setting her keys into the ignition. "So you can pick up this apple in my car?" She gestured to the red orb sitting in her cup holder.

He glanced at it. "Sure I can," he cupped his right hand around the object and lifted it into midair. He began to toss the apple up and down. "See?"

"That's amazing," she murmured. "I wasn't aware it was possible for a ghost to do such a thing."

"Well, I wasn't aware ghosts could exist either," he shrugged, "but, here I am."

"…Oh," was all Aoko had to say.

Kaito gave her a nonchalant look. "It's not all bad. Being a ghost has its perks."

"Like what?"

"Well, for one I get to see the color of your underwear. And, I must say, pink is such a weird thing to see from you. Judging by your hot temper I'd have thought it'd be red or maybe because of your dull personality maybe a gray color but then again-"

"Pervert!" she yelped, unable to keep her face from flushing a deep scarlet. A hand tugged down at her skirt.

He seemed unfazed by her accusation, instead settling down into a more thoughtful mood. "Hmm, I wonder if I was one…a pervert, I mean. Was I a nerd? Was I a detective? God, I hope I wasn't a detective. They are like the epitome of nerds."

"Who knows?" Aoko muttered, turning on the engine as the blush steadily faded from her face. "Maybe you were the nerdiest of them all."

"No way!" he squawked, looking at her in horror. "I could not have been! I must've been someone cool! Someone awesome! Like a magician! Yeah, they're cool!"

"Cool how? All they do is pull bunnies out of hats and flash around a few card tricks."

"I feel like that's probably offensive to all things magic," he muttered. "Poor magicians, mocked by a girl with no talent of her own."

"Who says I don't have talent, _detective geek?_" he yelped and she snickered.

"I am not and will not ever, ever, be a geek or a detective! I am more amazing than those low-lives!"

"Those low-lives are going to figure out how you died," Aoko stated matter-of-factly, watching in satisfaction as a sense of horror came over him.

She pulled out of the driveway, enjoying his silence immensely as she traveled through the streets of Ekoda.

Kaito, however, remained pouting the entire way.

* * *

The cafe was packed with customers by the time Aoko and Kaito had gotten there. Outside, the rain that Aoko had just escaped from clamored on the glass window panes of the shop, creating a distant hum that wasn't entirely forgotten as the revolving doors opened and shut. People who had taken refuge from the storm sat hovering around the tables and standing in the few areas they could, hands curled around cups of hot beverages as they watched the downpour continue to drench the sidewalks of Tokyo.

Aoko found the scene almost uncomfortable as she slid through the crowd of customers, narrowly avoiding the embarrassment of tripping over someone else's bag or bumping into a random stranger. Of course, Kaito did not help her situation, hovering beside her as he, too, dodged the crowd of visitors, visibly mocking her movements.

After a bit, roughly thirty seconds in time, Aoko had managed to come upon their normal table. And, as always, everyone had already gathered there ahead of her. Even Heiji, who had a habitual record of being late, was sitting comfortably in his seat with not a hint of rain on his clothing.

_Lucky bastard,_ she thought to herself, shivering as she crossed her arms across her drenched clothing. She had forgotten to bring an umbrella to with her into work due to the forecast predicting a 100% chance of sunshine -_ those liars_ \- and thus she had been stuck with the predicament of running through the rain in an effort to avoid the torrential downpour. However, as hard as she had tried, she still hadn't been able to avoid the rainfall.

Ran handed her a cup of hot coffee. "You look like you need it," she suggested, though Aoko knew the girl had ordered it specifically with her in mind.

"Thanks," she accepted the cup with a sigh, hands wrapping around the container in an effort to absorb as much heat as possible.

"You look like a rat who just found its way out of the street gutter," Shinichi stated loudly, his blatant insult earning him a combination of glares from Kazuha, Ran, and Aoko.

Kaito snickered. "You _do_ look like a drenched rat!" he looked at Shinichi and then back to Aoko. "I think I like this guy."

"Good, because he's going to help you," she muttered, pulling out a chair to take a seat at the table.

Shinichi and Kazuha regarded her strangely. "Who's goin' to help whom?" Kazuha asked with a tilt of her head.

"Ah, don't mind me," she sent a glare Kaito's way and he looked back sheepishly. "It's just that a certain ghost is talking to me."

Shinichi's eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Aoko, aren't you getting a little too...obsessed with your supernatural beliefs? I mean, it's okay to believe in them and all but believing that you can actually see and talk to them is kind of the thing of a crazy person. Especially since you're talking to thin air."

Her cheeks heated up in embarrassment as she realized that, to their eyes, she was indeed speaking to the air around her. Her gaze landed on Kaito and the phantom shrugged, as if unconcerned that her friends believed that she was now a little bit crazy.

"I'm perfectly fine," she sighed, taking a sip from her drink and silently wishing that the air conditioning within the cafe had been turned down. "Just…I need a favor from you and Heiji."

"Me?" Heiji and Shinichi inquired in perfect sync. They scowled at eachother.

"Yes, both of you. I want to ask you guys to look into something for me."

"What is it?" Heiji leaned forward, his interest finally secured.

"I want you to help me find a, uh, dead person," they stared at her. "Or okay, maybe he's not dead but I'm pretty sure he is."

Kazuha's hand strayed to Aoko's. "Are ya sure you're okay?" she asked softly, concern filtering into her tone. "Have ya been getting any sleep since we last met?"

Kaito groaned. "Great, now they're all convinced you're crazy. Aoko, why don't you go ahead tell them that I'm your boyfriend too? Or, better yet, tell them that I'm a notorious thief who goes around stealing things in the middle of the night! They will definitely believe you then."

She held back a retort, suddenly feeling the urge to snap at him. She restrained it and turned to Kazuha apologetically. "I'm fine," she said. "I just need some help on this little favor."

"Well, putting aside the fact that this guy may or may not be _dead_, can you show us a photograph of him? And, while we're at it, mind explaining to me why you care about this man so much as to search for his _corpse_?"

"The ridicule is strong in this one," Kaito murmured thoughtfully, hovering between Shinichi and Ran.

She was tempted to comment on his snarky snippet. However, she instead focused her attention on Shinichi, sighing. "Well...how do I explain this to you? To begin, you know that guy that I said I saw in this cafe two days ago?"

"Yes?" Heiji looked more impatient than curious, irritation biting into his voice.

"Well...it turns out he's here again. Right beside me. As a...well, as a ghost."

Her friends stared at her.

"So, you want us to investigate a _ghost?_" Shinichi scoffed, gulping down the last drops of his beverage with a snort. "Hah. Right. Like there's such things as ghosts. I mean, no offense Aoko, but it seems you're taking this supernatural stuff way too seriously."

Kaito scowled at him. "Aoko," he began snidely. "I change my mind. I hate this dude. He's too fixated on reality for my tastes."

"Welcome to my world," she muttered, finger idly stirring the rod in her drink. "Anyways, Shinichi, you're wrong. I'm not taking it seriously because there's literally a freaking phantom standing right next to you."

Shinichi glared at her, a frosty tone sneaking into his voice. "_Aoko_," he began in annoyance. "There's no such things as ghosts. They're just figments of your imagination. Illusions. A defense mechanism made to combat or enhance anxiety. Whatever you think you're seeing is just a hallucination you've dreamed up. You just need more sleep, I'm sure. And less work hours as well."

From beside him, Kaito snorted in disbelief. His blue eyes glared at the oblivious detective, irritation simmering off of him. Then, he paused, looking seemingly dazed before a nasty gleam shone in his eyes. The man turned to Aoko, a sudden grin splitting his face. "Say, Aoko," he began, turning to Ran. He pointed to the other brown-haired girl with disturbing delight. "Is this girl Shinichi's lover?"

"Try childhood friend," she said, speaking directly to Kaito. She ignored the worried gazes from everyone else around her and continued stirring her drink. "But, sure, if you want to say that they're in a romantic relationship I guess you wouldn't be _entirely_ wrong."

"Oi!" Shinichi's eyes widened and he raised his hands up defensively. "What are you implying? Who's in a romantic relationship with who now?"

Aoko opened her mouth to respond but was promptly cut off by Kaito shushing her. The man turned to Ran and casually placed a hand on her shoulder.

In an instantaneous occurrence, Aoko found herself baffled. The second Kaito's white gloved hand reached down upon the brown shirt Ran was wearing, he began to glow. Really glow. Like a bright ball of light that would screw her eyes over if she kept staring at it. However, after a slight millisecond the illumination from his form dissipated.

And so did his body.

As soon as the light had left Aoko's eyes, the man that had previous standing in-between Shinichi and Ran had disappeared. And, in that same, second, Ran's hand shot up to her forehead, fingers rubbing at her temple as if a headache was ravaging her mind. Shinichi leaned closer to her out of concern, obviously having taken notice of her sudden distress.

"Ran? Are you alright?" he asked, observing her over. The man turned to Aoko with a flash of fury running through his eyes. "What did you do to her?"

"It's not what I did, but what Kaito did," she spoke quickly, sweeping her gaze over Ran. The other girl shivered, extracting concerned interest from Kazuha and Heiji. "I...I don't know what happened but one second he was there and the other he was not. And then, Ran started acting ill and-"

"_Aoko_," his voice was maliciously cold, his palms slamming down upon the table. She stopped stirring her drink. "You need to _stop _with this childish game of yours. Ghosts don't exist. The supernatural does NOT exist. I'm tired of hearing you go on and on about your ghost friend needs help. This ghost of yours is just a figment of your imagination. It's not real. And you obviously need to get medical attention if you believe otherwise. Now, tell me, what is it you did to Ran?"

The woman stared up at him, mouth dropped open and eyebrows drawn up in a mixture of horror and surprise. Against her will, she leaned away from him, a hand covering her lips to prevent herself from denying anything. He was already provoked and she did not want to risk saying anything more that would set his anger on her yet again.

Ran glanced up, cluelessly staring at the enraged detective. "Shinichi!" she reprimanded him. "Don't yell at Aoko like that. I'm fine, thank you very much. I just suddenly remembered a horror film I was watching last night and got creeped out by it. It had nothing to do with Aoko. Now, apologize."

The man slowly slid back into his chair, disbelief and guilt written distractingly upon his features as he embraced the poorly-drawn excuse. He tugged at his red hoodie and sighed, staring up at the other girl with a frown. "I'm sorry, Aoko. For saying those things. I was just angry, I guess. It seemed too coincidental that she acted up around the same time you were conversing with that "ghost" or whatever you want to call it."

"A phantom would do," Ran stated plainly, childishly smiling at the man. Aoko stared at the girl for a bit before she noticed the way Ran was beaming at Shinichi, almost like a cat about to snare a canary. It puzzled her for a few seconds, and she was sure it was messing with Shinichi too. "That's what you should call him, at least. Isn't that right, Mister Detective?"

He and Aoko looked at Ran with sudden alarm. "Wait, Ran? What did you call me?"

"Mister Detective? Why, is something wrong with that?"

Shinichi's face flushed red. "But you...you never call me that!" he protested, seemingly confused as he made spluttering noises.

Ran turned to Aoko and winked.

Aoko's lips made a little 'o'.

"Well I can, can't I?" she asked, biting her lips and pulling off an expression that was akin to a begging puppy. "Is it against the law to do so, _Mister Detective_?"

Heiji turned to Kazuha, holding his drink up, observing it, and then taking small sips. "I have no clue what's happenin'," he admitted to the lady. "Both of 'em are actin' crazy now. Like somethin' bizarre just happened and we're completely outta the loop."

The girl beside him nodded blankly. "Ran never acts this way. She's just as blind as Shinichi when it comes to anything like w-well, I'm not sure what she's doing right now."

"I think I should take offense to that!" the brunette in question placed her hands on her hips. "What I'm doing here is called flirting!"

All of the people present gaped at Ran. Even Aoko, who finally understood what was happening, was baffled at Ran's deep and sudden change in character. Shinichi, however, seemed to have a hard time computing the girl's words.

"F-Flirting?" he looked like someone had shot him with paralyzing poison.

Ran gave a friendly wink to the detective, sliding closer to him. She placed her face against his forehead, finding obvious delight in the way his face turned scorching crimson while he spluttered near incoherent things that sounded almost like he was saying "oh God, is this a dream or a nightmare?"

"Mis-ter De-tect-ive," Ran spelled the syllables out in a soft but shy way.

Aoko pinched the bridge of her nose, beginning to feel embarrassed. "Okay, that's enough from you! Kaito, stop that stupid act right now!"

Heiji turned his head to Aoko. "What the hell do ya mean?" he snapped, tossing a quick glance at Shinichi as the boy's brain began to overload. "When did Ran become a Kaito?"

The brown-haired girl pulled back, pouting. She turned to Aoko and sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll stop teasing him. Mister Detective you can rest easy. I'm not your girlfriend, ya know?"

Shinichi snapped out of his daze. "Huh?" he asked before his face flushed yet again. "You were never my, uh, girlfriend, Ran! We're just friends, aren't we?"

"Denial," Ran - Kaito - placed her chin on her propped-up hands, "jeez, I almost feel sorry for this poor lady. Well, anyways. It's nice to meet you, detective. My name's Kaito and, as you've already heard from Aoko and I want _your_ help."

The boy stared. "But, Ran, Aoko was merely being delusio-"

"_No,_ she wasn't. There really was - is - a ghost. And, well, that's me right now. Although, I'm merely possessing your girlfriend's body to prove my existence. She actually has a lovely figure, y'know? I feel like I could watch myself in a mirror all night if I stayed in her body right now."

Shinichi's eye twitched. "Get out then."

"Nuh-uh! I don't feel like it!" Ran smiled sweetly at him. "Not until you acknowledge that ghosts exist."

"But they don't. It's not possible," he stared up at Ran, boldly defiant. However, beneath the facade, Aoko was quite sure that doubt was already beginning to ignite inside him.

"Then what do you call your girlfriend's sudden change in personality?"

"She's not my girlfriend," he muttered before crossing his arms and frowning. "But...I don't understand it. Ghosts aren't supposed to exist. There's only one truth, and that is that the supernatural don't live in this world!"

"This world, maybe," Kaito waved a hand, "but in the realm of the dead, I assume ghosts are still very much a thing. Kind of like how I'm existing right now even though my real body's probably decomposing in some swamp. I can be here but I can't really interact with the world unless I'm possessing someone else's mind. You may assume that Aoko's just having hallucinations when she's speaking of ghosts because - dear lord is that girl _obsessed_ with supernatural stuff - I mean, have you seen her bedroom-?"

Aoko coughed and he glanced at her sheepishly. "Right. I'm getting off track. Got it," he turned to Shinichi. "Anyways, let's just say that once upon a time, I'm sure I would've agreed with you. Now, however, I'm going to have to admit ghosts _do_ exist or, else, how would I be here talking to you right now?"

"True," Shinichi's shoulders slumped. He looked at the girl with bitterness digging into his gaze. "And, I guess that means that you're right."

"I am?" Ran inquired cheekily, a bright grin splitting her face. She prodded him forward. "I'm right about what now?"

"Don't push your limits, _phantom_."

"I'm touched, you admit it! You admit that ghosts really _do_ exist!"

"If you weren't in Ran's body right now I would so kick you into Hell myself."

Aoko snickered as Kaito faltered, leaning away from the Beika detective.

Heiji pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're all actin' crazy," he said, leaning against the glass walls of the cafe. "Debatin' and arguin' over somethin' that's clearly too above our heads to recognize."

Kazuha glanced at the boy and nodded. "As much as I'd like ta say I believe ya guys...how do we know this isn't some set-up that you guys made? Is it April Fool's already?"

The brown-skinned man shared a knowing look with her. "Exactly," he said, "how do we know ya guys aren't pullin' an elaborate prank on us right now?"

Ran clucked her tongue. "You are all so naive. Here, let me give you a taste."

And, with that remark, Kaito split himself from Ran. He slipped out of her body like a man stepping out of a full-bodied costume, emerging from just above her head and hovering upwards until his feet were just a few centimeters above Ran's hair. Then, with a woosh of movement and a light tap on the top of Heiji's head, he was sucked into the man's body with another bright burst of light. Aoko averted her eyes, surprised that an afterimage did not appear on them even after she glanced back at the still glowing and newly-possessed Heiji.

As with last time, Heiji's head leaned forward, and his fingers went straight to his forehead as if some massive sort of pain were oppressing him. He made a groaning noise and, instantly, Kazuha shot to his side. "H-Heiji!" she shrieked with surprise, earning a few curious looks from the customer's around them. "What's wrong?"

A bare-toothed grin split his face within in instant. Heiji's head perked up and his eyes eerily adjusted upon the brown-haired girl. "Miss," he started, completely dropping Heiji's normal accent. "Your boyfriend is okay. I've simply possessed his body for a few moments."

Kazuha gaped. "But, I didn't think...Heiji, is this a joke? Is there some inside thing I'm not getting here?" She turned to the other boy at the table. "Shinichi?"

Shinichi shook his head, carefully leaning and observing Ran as the girl stirred from her ailment. She lifted herself from the table surface, a hand sliding up to her forehead as she groaned. "What...just happened to me?"

"Ran!" Shinichi sighed, shoulders slumping in relief. "You're awake!"

She stared at the boy, a light shade of pink dusting her face at his concern. "Shinichi?" she tilted her head to the side. "What's going on?"

Heiji leaned forward, waving a hand with beckoning eagerness. "Heya, Ran!"

Ran swiveled around to face Heiji. "Hey…?"

He stuck out a hand. "My name's Kaito, nice to meetcha!"

"Your name is Heiji," she stated blankly, eyeing his hand cautiously. "Not Kaito."

"Well, technically you're right about that. But, for now, let's just say that Heiji is not existing as Heiji should."

"In other words," Aoko interrupted, somehow managing to remain calm as everyone else began to freak out, "Kaito is possessing Heiji's body, just like he did with your's not too long ago."

"So, where is Heiji now?" Kazuha peered at the boy with bewilderment, clutching her hand to her chest. "Is he...gone?"

"He's in the farthest reaches of his own mind, but, no, he's not gone," Kaito played with the cap on Heiji's head, twisting it back and forth in wonder. "For now, he's just simply unaware of my existence, but his body knows that I've hijacked his mind. I can feel it trying to eject me right now. It takes a surprising amount of energy to linger in someone else's body."

"Then get out of his body," Kazuha glared at the boy. "It's not yours to willingly possess on your own."

"Exactly." Shinichi chimed in, a hand slung protectively across Ran's shoulders. The brunette stared up at him, eyes torn between utter embarrassment and confusion at his actions. "If you're truly a ghost, as Aoko says you are-"

"Which I am."

"-then you should have no need to be in possession of a physical body. You've been separated from your body for a reason, and it's just _wrong_ for you to be in the body of someone else. You might as will be breaking the very laws of nature if you keep trying to possess people."

"Sheesh, what a stickler," Heiji rolled his eyes. "Fine, I admit that taking over other's bodies is probably the wrong thing to do, but it's fun and - aside from the lovely Aoko over there - it's the only way I can actually talk to people."

The detective unslung his arm from around Ran and crossed it with his other."If you want to talk to people, can't you just use Aoko as a translator? There's no need for you to possess others if she serves as an interpreter. She _can_ see you and hear you after all, can't she?"

Aoko leaned forward, hopping back into the discussion. "Yes, but I'm apparently the only one who can do this. Can you imagine how hard it'd be to go up to random people and be like, 'hey, so, there's this ghost talking to me and he wants to talk to you. Help?'"

"Oh, isn't that what you did with us?" Shinichi said dryly. "Your words were almost along those exact same lines when you asked for our help with the investigation of his supposed corpse."

She blushed furiously, knowing that she had, in fact, done such a thing. "Yeah, so? How about the investigation? Are you willing to do it now?"

"Well, first, Kaito," Kazuha glared at the brown-skinned man, "get out of my friend's body."

"You mean your boyfriend's body?"

She scowled, a nasty glare burning in his direction. Despite her intense infuriation to the question, a red flush painted her face. "We are childhood friends and nothin' more! I don't plan to be the girlfriend of that idiot anytime soon, mind you!"

"You're not goin' to be the girlfriend of whom?" Heiji asked, his eyes blinking rapidly as his voice went from confident to confused.

Kazuha jumped. "H-Heiji? Is that you?"

"Well I don't know who else I could be. Unless ya mean to say I've been transformed into Yoko Okino overnight?"

Aoko snickered. Kaito hovered beside the girl, leaning in closer towards her. "Whose Yoko Okino?"

"Yoko's a famous popstar who made a debut about six years ago. Ran's father _adores _her, and will never, ever stop talking about her unless he's blatantly interrupted."

"I can hear you, y'know," Ran shot her friend a glare, arms crossed.

Aoko shrugged in response, taking a gulp from her chilled drink. "Kaito just wanted to know who Yoko was so I told him."

"Speakin' of this ghost, is he the reason why I feel a migraine in my head right now?" he rubbed his forehead in the same manner Ran had minutes before. "Or did you guys slip me somethin' in my drink that's makin' me go insane?"

"I'd reason it's the former," Kaito said. The air remained stagnant with silence until Kaito glared at Aoko. He waved his hands. "_Helloooo_ there? Aren't you my official translator? Aren't you going to speak up for right now?."

She heaved a sigh. "Kaito says that it would be the former reason."

Heiji snapped his attention to her. "Ya mean he actually _exists_?"

"Yes I do," Kaito muttered. "Or else you wouldn't have a headache like you do right now."

Aoko repeated the line.

"Ya have got to be _kidding_ me. Shinichi, are ya tellin' me you believe this crap?"

"Sadly, yes," Shinichi gritted his teeth together. "I really don't want to believe it either but...the facts _do_ add up. Ran wouldn't act that way normally and you, Heiji, completely dropped your beloved accent when he took over you body. I'd say that's circumstantial evidence. Plus, you both caught headaches at the same time that Kaito's spirit entered and departed your precious body."

"Hey, don't make fun of my accent!" the boy scowled. "It's not like ya don't have one yourself, _Mister Detective_."

Shinichi yelped. "And you have no right to call me that!" He spared a glance at Ran and Aoko, one of whom only returned his gaze with a smirk while the other sat there, baffled.

"Mister Detective, huh?" Ran mused. "Sounds cute. Right?"

"R-Ran!" the boy sank lower in his seat, cheeks stained with the faintest hint of red.

"_Regardless_," Heiji interrupted with a cough, "it seems like we really need to hear ya request, Kaito. If all it takes is some diggin' into your past to send ya back to the ghostly realm, than I suppose we could owe ya some assistance in this matter. Do ya remember anythin' specific about your past that ya can tell us about?"

"I don't really know. Everything about my past life is gone. It's weird, like I can't remember anything. I can recognize the names of scents and smells and basic crap like what's the sun and what's the moon but I can't remember stuff like my address or my age or even anything other than my name."

Shinichi raised a hand. Aoko turned to him with a raised eyebrow. He spoke quietly, eyes addressing her but voice doing otherwise: "Kaito, do you remember when the French Revolution took place?"

Beside Aoko, Kaito startled. "It started in 1789, though it's most prominently debated to have started when the Storming of the Bastille occurred. But...I don't see what that has to do with anything?"

"Basic retention," Heiji estimated, rubbing his chin and exchanging a glance that suggested he was thinking alongside the same lines as Shinichi. "If your mind is capable of holdin' random facts such as that, it's probable that your mind is hidin' evidence of your identity. Though I don't believe I'm well educated on the manners of the paranormal, I will say that it is possible that visitin' random locations may spark up memories of potential use to ya."

"What do you suggest I do then? Tour around Japan on a cruise ship? Because, I don't think I'm rich or anything. This outfit's about as rich as I could probably get!"

"Nah, we'll put you on nothin' of that sort. Maybe what we need to do is have ya live with someone temporarily. If we have no leads on who ya are, it'd probably be best to keep ya with someone who can help guide ya and keep ya company. I mean, I've watched a lot of movies an' crap, but I'd say the best way to help out amnesia is by this: if ya live with someone else, someone _livin' _and not _dead_, chances are ya'll find some way of joggin' your memory again. Course, it'd work better with someone who actually knows ya but...all the same. We need ya to live with someone who can see ya and talk to ya in your spiritual body."

Aoko's eyebrows lifted up in sudden caution. "Are you suggesting _I _take care of him?" she crossed her arms, warily eyeing the man, "because, I don't know. His personality is kind of a major turn-off."

"I take _offense_ to that!" Kaito muttered but the girl promptly ignored him in favor of Shinichi's reply.

The man shrugged. "Well, you did say you loved the supernatural. Shouldn't Kaito be sort of your dream come true? I mean, here you are talking and speaking to a real, live ghost, and all you can say is that you don't want to take care of him? I'm calling hypocrisy on this."

She blushed. "Even if I admit to liking anything supernatural, I'm not so sure of being haunted by one. Even if I _am_ capable of speaking to him it feels almost...unnatural. Surreal. I always thought meeting up with a ghost or a vampire or a werewolf would be lead to a adventurous and romantic occasion but, in all honesty, I think Kaito's more of a hindrance than anything else."

"And I _still _take offense to that!" the ghost huffed. "Just because my personality isn't all that great to you doesn't mean you should just judge me immediately! What if I _do_ turn out to be your adventurous and romantic occasion? How would you think of me then?"

The girl's nose wrinkled. "You're in_ no_ way romantic. Besides, this is probably going to be an easy task for the boys so you won't stay here long."

Kazuha made a soft sighing noise, eyebrows knitted together in obvious bafflement. "But how do ya know it's goin' ta be easy?" she inquired. "Collectin' clues about Kaito's identity, I mean?"

"Well, if we're asking Shinichi and Heiji for help, it should be a piece of cake. Right, boys?"

They met her gaze with weary looks. "Unfortunately," Shinichi said, "it's not that easy. We have no clue what Kaito looks like. All we know about him is what exists of the meetings we held with him while he possessed Ran and Heiji. He even said himself that he knows nothing of his past and, as a result, there's not much to go on. The only thing we know of is that your ghost friend is called Kaito, though I am unaware of whether he knows his last name or not?"

Aoko turned to Kaito. "As a matter of fact, I don't think you've ever mentioned your last name to me?"

"That's because I don't think I can remember it. My name's Kaito. I'm a ghost and I just want to know who I am. Isn't there anything you guys can do about it?"

She shook her head and repeated his words to the group observing her. Kazuha and Ran soaked in the words with bewildered silence, glancing at eachother before their lips slid down in concentration. Shinichi and Heiji mirrored the girls, but with frustrated inquisitiveness peeling from their faces. Kaito took the moment of quietness to observe their reactions with disheartenment, a somber frown gracing his transparent lips.

"You guys...don't know, do you?" he whispered, distress seeping into his voice. "It's useless, isn't it? Even critics like you can't piece together the identity of a body long dead. I shouldn't have even..I shouldn't have even _tried_."

"Hey, we'll do the best that we can," Aoko murmured, "but even the world's best detectives can't do anything if there is no evidence to go on. Shinichi, would it be okay if I at least give you a description of Kaito? It might help if you atleast know what he atleast looks like?"

The boy shrugged, fingers slipping through the cowlick at the end of his head. He tugged at it before refocusing his hand upon his chin. "Shoot away," he sighed. "But I doubt there's much I can do. I don't exactly have permission to look through Japan's entire list of dead citizens but...it can be a start."

She frowned, leaning forward to discuss his characteristics. Messy brown hair, ice blue eyes, slightly pointed chin, slender fingers...anything that came to mind while observing him. Shinichi nodded, taking notes upon a notepad he had extracted from his jacket pocket. His pen scratched Japanese characters with little effort, focused concentration between her and the pad creating a sense of ease that allowed both of them to remain attentive to their tasks at hand.

Shinichi closed the notepad, tucking it back into his jacket pocket. He turned to Heiji. "I assume you'll want these notes as well?"

The dark-skinned man flashed a notepad of his own. "Nah, I've got it all down already. Not sure it'll come in handy, but maybe we can keep on the lookout while we wait for Kaito to regain his memory."

"You expect me to regain my memory?" the phantom scoffed with half-hearted dismissal. "But there's no guarantee that such a thing will happen. If I'm dead and without memories - without a brain - wouldn't it be impossible to track down everything that I knew about my past life?"

"Impossible, yes, but ghosts are also said to be impossible," Ran pointed out, becoming flustered when everyone turned their attention to her. "I mean, I'm not a big Holmes geek like Shinichi is, but wasn't there once a quote where he mentioned that anything impossible can become true?"

"'Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth'," Shinichi recited confidently. "In other words, now that we know ghosts are not of the impossible and that, while recalling the memory of a spiritual body and not that of the real body is improbable, it is likely that the truth is that it's possible that Kaito can be able to regain his memory."

"Of course, whether or not he actually remembers anything is the drivin' point of the conversation. Can't say he will, but if he goes with ya, Aoko, than he might be able to remember something."

"Like what?" she asked Heiji.

"Anything. A street address, an obsession he may have had, any names of girlfriends or guy friends that he's hung out with and yadda, yadda. Heck, even his age would narrow down the millions of candidates to probably a couple thousand. But, until we are able to do more than just play a game of guess an' check, there's not much we detectives can do for ya both. It's best for ya two to just get along and explore 'cause Aoko's the only one who Kaito can actually talk to as of now. So, do ya mind doing us detectives a favor of your own an' takin' care of this phantom for now?"

"What am I supposed to do, ghost-sit him?" the brunette said dryly, casting an unsure glance at the man hovering beside her. He frowned unsurely.

"You can't avoid it, Aoko. If he needs your help and you can have the ability to give him that help, it's inevitable that you two will end up together. If he needs identification to pass on to the afterlife then isn't your responsibility to help him, as a lover of the supernatural and a seer of such ghostly things?"

"I...guess," she sighed, shooting a glare at Kaito as he gave Shinichi two thumbs-up.

Shinichi remained unaware of the man's actions, instead pulling out his cellphone and flipping it open. "It's almost time to leave," he reported, "but I believe this discussion can always be opened again at a later time. For now, Kaito, I suggest you take careful notes of your surroundings and report to Aoko if you find anything - and I mean _anything_ \- familiar."

"Roger that, Mister Detective!"

"Don't call me that," the brown-haired man grumbled. "No one can call me that."

"Then how about Shorty?" Heiji hummed, reaching over to rub Shinichi's hair with a fist. "After all, you're _so much_ shorter than me!"

"Not that either!" he pouted. "I am _not_ short, thank you very much!"

"Yes, yes," Ran patted Shinichi's shoulder and urged him out of his seat while he muttering and complaining under his breath. "We all know that you're a sensitive little puppy inside. But, for the moment, let's just head back to our apartment. Maybe we can even get some WcDonald's on the way back."

Shinichi's gaze brightened. "Large french fries and a hamburger?"

She sighed. "Large french fries and a hamburger," Ran confirmed. "And, of course, we'll get extra ketchup packets with it. I'll be paying, too."

"Yes!" he snapped his fingers in excitement, clapping her on the shoulder. "You're the best, Ran!"

Across from them, Heiji elbowed Kazuha with a sly grin. "Quite the flirters they are, aren't they, Kazuha?" he pronounced in a loud voice.

The girl followed along with a sly smile. "Kind of like a couple," she mused, turning to Aoko, "don'tcha think?"

"Well, they certainly do look like one," she commented lightly, picking up her drink to finish it off with a quick gulp of liquid. "I wouldn't be surprised if Shinichi got down on one knee and proposed to her right now."

Simultaneously, both Ran's and Shinichi's faces turned tomato red. Their sudden closeness to each other resulted in a quick sliding of feet and an acquired distance of two feet away from the other. Both fidgeted with random items, Ran suddenly finding a need to focus on the strap of her purse while Shinichi fixated on an imaginary spot on his jacket.

Kaito observed them with amusement, leaning closer to Aoko. "They're in that denial stage of life, aren't they?"

"Oh, they've been in denial for twenty years," she confirmed in a boisterous voice. It inadvertently gathered the attention of a few customers around her. "But that doesn't seem to stop them from acting like lovestruck idiots."

"W-We're not lovestruck idiots!" both man and woman yelped before glancing at each other and looking away with faces more red than before.

"I-I mean, we're just childhood friends, aren't we?" Shinichi nervously inquired to Ran.

She met his gaze and then faltered, looking away. "Yeah, I guess we are."

They paused for a bit before Ran spoke up again, looking a bit panicked and apologetic. "I-I've got to go do something!" she muttered. "I have a...a case with another lawyer! Yeah, a client wanted to talk to me and I completely forgot about it. I'm, um, sorry Shinichi but I have to go now!"

She raced off before Shinichi could protest, and he turned to them with helplessness reflected into his face. "Now how am I supposed to face her?" he sighed, pink still painting his cheeks. "You guys are just cruel."

"Hey, we're tryin' to help your love life out a bit. It seems like ya need it. She's gonna be taken by some other man if ya don't confess to her soon."

His eyes widened. "Seriously? For real? Who?"

"Well, it's just a hypothetical guess. If she thinks that ya only think of her as a friend, she may lose interest in ya. Why don't you just try askin' her? Ya have nothin' to be afraid of."

Aoko stared at Heiji with narrowed eyes, gaze sliding covertly to Kazuha before they refocused upon the dark-skinned man again. "Some talk you put up," she said, "when you're in a similar situation."

"Ya say somethin', Aoko?" the man growled, eyes glowing with warning.

She deposited her empty cup into a trashcan and glanced up at him with an innocent glance. The others - barring Kaito - followed her example, tossing away their drinks into the black depths. Aoko lingered before she spoke, "I didn't say anything, Heiji. "

"Sure ya didn't," he grumbled but continued to address Shinichi. "Anyways, just go get some courage, ya chicken, and see if she truly likes ya in the same way ya like her. Nothin' could possibly go wrong."

"That's what you think," Shinichi muttered, "but you're not exactly the one who has to confess here."

He paused, glanced out the window, and waited until a white car had made its exit to walk out into the parking lot. He gave them a short and offhanded wave of his hand before the cafe door closed and Shinichi made way towards his own vehicle. Heiji raised an eyebrow before turning to Aoko.

"Are ya and Kaito headin' home now?" he inquired.

She glanced at the paranormal entity hovering beside her. "Actually, I thought it might be better to go around town for a bit. Maybe Kaito'll remember something if we go around visiting random places in the Ekoda area."

"Why not all of Tokyo?"

Another glance towards Kaito. "I know he's already been around all of Tokyo before but I don't think he remembers anything from his trip around the area. Right?"

The ghost nodded. "When I was looking for someone who could see me," he clarified, "I wandered around the Tokyo area. Though, I don't know whether I was paying full attention or not. I was in shock for three days before I found you so I can't say that I truly remember anything."

"Then it's probably best if we start out small, like with the Ekoda prefecture. Maybe, if we explore the entire area in more depth, we'll be able to find something."

"We could tour Tokyo at a later date," Kazuha suggested with a grin. "Heiji and I need to go shopping for some things in that area. He needs a new couch and I am _dying_ to try this new smoothie blend that they just put out on the market. So, maybe we could all go and travel around on Sunday?"

"Sunday sounds great. Do you want to meet back here at one o'clock?"

"Sure," Heiji shrugged. "One o'clock."

A moment of silence. "So...goodbye?" Kazuha offered.

"Goodbye," Aoko and Kaito replied simultaneously.

The girl waved goodbye to the other pair, grabbing Heiji's arm and pulling him through the door and in the direction of their cars. Aoko followed their example, shoving through the glass doors of the shop before fishing out her keys from the depths of her maroon purse. She approached her vehicle, ready to unlock it, when a short beep occurred and the lock bolts of her car popped up. With mild surprise - she should've expected him to pull some prank like that - she opened the door and slid inside.

"That was cruel," she said.

The man grinned. "You looked startled."

"Of course I did - car doors don't just open automatically," she almost felt like she was talking to herself as she noticed several customers peering inside her vehicle curiously.

"Well, this one does," he hummed, fingers sliding across the control panel of her car door. The sound of the lock bolts going up and down, of locking and unlocking, made continuous noises until she slapped at his arm.

He watched her arm as it passed through him. "You know I could've taken possession of you right now, right?"

The woman looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"When you - when people - touch me, I have the ability to willingly possess someone's body. It also works if I touch them. Aren't you afraid I'll do the same thing to you as I did to Heiji, Ran, Hakuba, and that one strawberry blonde chick?"

Her head snapped to him. "Are _you_ the reason why Shiho was acting so weird?"

"Ah, that's her name," he looked at her warily. "And, yeah, I was. I was trying to approach you and she was the first person I came across. Doesn't that make you feel...worried?"

"Am I supposed to?"

He hesitated. "Well, wouldn't someone normally be afraid of...well, of ghosts? I mean, I'm a creature of the dead with the ability to possess someone else's body. Wouldn't you find yourself scared of someone like me?"

"You're just like any other person. You may be a phantom but, aside from a missing body, you're still human. You lived once before but that doesn't change you from who you were in your past life. So far, all I've seen of you are qualities not to be feared. You're sarcastic, rude, irritating but you're also desperate, alone, and worried. All you want to know is who you are - were - and what you did before you died. You're not exactly using us as pawns, as far as I can see, and you're frank about your opinions. What's there that I should be scared about?"

"What if I was involved in something horrible?"

"You don't seem like the type."

"What if your friends get into severe danger for trying to figure out how I died?"

"They can take care of themselves."

"What if I was someone terrible and my memories are preventing me from seeing that? What if I possess you and use you to my advantage?"

"There's always that possibility, but I'm going to be optimistic and say it's not happening."

"What if-?"

"_No._ I trust in you right now not to do anything and I trust that you won't break my faith in you even if I'm doing this temporarily."

He lapsed into silence. Aoko was almost surprised that she managed to get her car outside of the parking lot's vicinity before he spoke once again. "I won't break your faith in me," he stated affirmatively.

The brunette smiled. "Good."

She did not see the black shadow that lingered on the corner of the cafe, withdrawing into darkness as it fled from the parking lot's midst.

* * *

The trip around Ekoda surprisingly led to no revelations. Even as they visited in and out of many stores, greeted by several employees and owners, Kaito was not able to spark any memories about the man's memory. Aoko had tried nearly every place she could think of - Ekoda's bakery, the two local WcDonald's, the three gasoline stops, sport stores, and even a pet store but to no avail. The only option they had left was the flower store that sat near the city's outskirts.

The pair approached the shop with caution, peering through the plethora of flowers and bouquets set snug within plastic and ceramic containers upon rows of shelves. There were many varieties showcased - like daisies, tulips, pansies, and lilies - but the one Kaito took specific interest in was the red roses. His gaze of curiosity centered upon the crimson flowers, captured by the view of vibrant petals and thornless stems.

Aoko approached him carefully. "Remember anything?" she asked, uncertain of the cause of his absorption.

His gloved hands collected a single rose and twisted it back and forth with careless movements. Kaito's blue eyes were captivated by the sight of it, and it seemed that he had lost himself in a sort of daze. Aoko frowned. "Kaito?"

He didn't respond, just blindly rolling the flower back and forth, back and forth.

"Kaito?" she repeated.

The man startled. "Yes?"

"Do you remember anything?"

He glanced at the flower and shook his head. "No, I just...I just get the feeling that something's nostalgic about this flower. I don't know why but...it feels like roses are important to me. They...remind me of something."

"Of what?"

Kaito glanced up. "Of someone I've met before."

"Who?"

He paused, eyebrows furrowing. "I...I don't know. I just...it reminds me of a friend or, maybe, a family member, it…" He looked up at her. "It reminds me of a girl I once knew."

* * *

(Edit: Thanks to Mystery0028 for pointing out my error regarding the Tokyo area. Should be fixed now!)

So, uh, yeah. Kind of uneventful, I guess? Shinichi, Heiji, and the rest are introduced more carefully to the story. Things are discussed. A few minor revelations. Next chapter will probably be more plot-worthy. Yeah…

Anyways, 26 pages later and we're here. Been kind of busy with catching up with other anime – namely Kaito Joker and Lady Jewelpet. Two oddball but under-rated shows that clearly deserve a bit more recognition. Kaito Joker is similar to Magic Kaito though the show is less realistic but portrays its characters in a comedic but nonsensical way (and, though it may seem like slice-of-life, it actually has a bit of plot stringed throughout the show) and is actually one of my favorite shows. Lady Jewelpet also is another good anime. It's kind of confusing at first, and it actually seems like it has a bit of a wonky plotline, but once Miura joins the cast it actually gets more appealing (he and Elena are two of my favorite characters!). I've also watched Owari no Seraph and Arslan Senki and they're definitely better then I expected (but I'm also especially fond of Shinoa's character in Seraph – she's so snide and care-free that it's kind of hard not to…).

Regardless, next chapter will peek into the introduction of another character. Who? Take a guess, though it's probably an easy one to estimate. She doesn't get much recognition but she is _definitely _a fun character to write.

Ciao!


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